This invention generally relates to lid holder for a cooking vessel and, more particularly, to a lid holder that is attached to an outer sidewall of a cooking vessel and engages with a lid handle to hold the lid in a generally vertical position.
Cooking vessels, such as pots, pans and slow cookers, often have a removable lid to prevent excessive evaporation and heat loss during cooking and between servings. There is often a need to intermittently remove, hold or store the hot lid while performing various activities required during cooking or serving. Because of the constrained confines and clutter of most kitchens and the short time period needed for accessing the contents of the cooking vessel, it is desirable to keep the lid close to the cooking vessel while accessing the contents of the cooking vessel. Additionally, the condensation and/or foodstuff left on the inner surface of the lid may drip from the lid and fall on nearby surfaces creating a mess and/or damaging certain surfaces such as wooden tables. Lid holders for holding the lid proximate the cooking vessel are known, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,745,548 and 5,683,010. However, known lid holders do not position the lid such that the moisture on the interior lid surface drips back into the cooking vessel. Additionally, known lid holders are either positioned on the rim or the handles of the cooking vessel thereby hindering normal use of the cooking vessel.
What is therefore needed, but not provided in the prior art, is a lid holder that is mounted on the outer sidewall of the cooking vessel and engages with the lid handle to direct the moisture draining from the lid back into the cooking vessel and leaves the rim and handles of the cooking vessel unobstructed. Additionally, it is desirable to provide a lid holder that is movable, rotatable and/or slidable from a lid support position to a storage position.